Su Xiaotian then remembered that at this time, mala tang and the like had not yet become popular nationwide.
But this was also an opportunity, wasn't it? Seize the first-mover advantage.
In this world, who makes money?
Isn't it the people who seize the first-mover advantage?
Even if others follow suit and open similar snack shops later, if people get used to the taste of this one, they will naturally feel that this one tastes exceptionally good.
"Auntie, I'll come over tomorrow during my break, and we'll have mala tang for lunch," Su Xiaotian said cheerfully.
"Xiaotian, how do you eat this mala tang you're talking about? What ingredients do we need to prepare?"
Wang Xianghua also became interested and immediately asked.
Su Xiaotian thought for a moment and asked, "Do we still have any vermicelli at home? Sweet potato vermicelli is fine, potato vermicelli is also fine."
"We still have some wide vermicelli, made from potatoes. Your Uncle said wide ones don't taste good." Wang Xianghua thought about it, and indeed, there was some left.
Su Xiaotian was delighted to hear this; eating wide vermicelli was the most satisfying.
"Auntie, please help me soak the vermicelli in warm water later. I'll deal with the rest when I come tomorrow."
Su Xiaotian only chatted for a while before returning to the factory. Su Changjiu and his wife had arrived, so she had to spend more time with them.
She would work overtime tonight to carefully sort out the work at hand.
Fortunately, once these matters were sorted out, they could be handed over to Lei Gaocao for specific implementation, and she wouldn't have to worry and exert herself like this.
That night, Su Xiaotian worked until past midnight before resting.
She had arranged most of the work in her hands.
Early the next morning, after explaining these tasks to Lei Gaocao and a few other management personnel, she went to the farm.
Lei Gaocao watched Su Xiaotian walk away and genuinely wanted to follow her.
He wanted to eat Su family's meals, truly wanted to eat Su family's meals.
He stroked his chin and began to consider whether he should find an excuse to go over at noon.
Lei Gaocao was not the only one with the same idea.
Su Xiaotian was unaware that the people under her were all evolving into foodies.
As she turned a corner, Su Xiaotian exchanged a basket of common mala tang ingredients from the system.
She exchanged some mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, sweet potatoes, potatoes, kelp, and wood ear mushrooms.
She didn't prepare any leafy greens, as there were plenty in the farm's vegetable patch.
Upon arriving at the farm, she greeted Wang Xianghua and the others.
"Xiaotian, why did you bring a basket of vegetables?" Wang Xianghua asked.
There were plenty of vegetables at home; they were enough.
Su Xiaotian smiled and said, "We're having mala tang for lunch, aren't we? It's good to have a variety of vegetables so you can all try and see which ones taste good."
"That's fine. I've already soaked the vermicelli. Xiaotian, what should we do now?"
Wang Xianghua and the others had already cleaned the farm that morning, fed the animals, and swept the place. They were free now.
"I'll go pick some more vegetables from the garden. Auntie, please soak the kelp and wood ear mushrooms in warm water. Also, peel the potatoes and sweet potatoes."
"Alright, I know. You go ahead!"
Su Changjiu's wife followed Su Xiaotian to the vegetable patch.
"Oh my, your auntie's garden is really well-tended, even better than the vegetable patches in our village."
"Good fertilizer!" Su Xiaotian said with a smile.
The farm lacked many things, but it did not lack fertilizer.
She was even planning to rent more land and hire people to build plastic greenhouses.
"That's true. Xiaotian, what vegetables are you planning to pick?"
"Any leafy greens will do. Eggplant and pumpkin are also good. Pick some cilantro too."
Su Xiaotian said as she started picking vegetables.
Su Changjiu's wife, being accustomed to farm work, immediately started helping.
Soon, another basket of vegetables was filled.
The farm had its own well, and Wang Xianghua and Su Changjiu's wife busied themselves by the well.
Su Xiaotian herself went to the kitchen to prepare the soup.
Chicken broth is the best for mala tang soup base, but there wasn't enough time to make chicken broth now.
So, Su Xiaotian exchanged chicken broth powder from the system to make the soup base, and then added the seasoning packets.
While the soup base was simmering, Su Xiaotian prepared various seasonings.
A bowl of chili oil was essential, along with minced garlic, sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorn oil, fried peanuts, and so on.
When Wang Xianghua and Su Changjiu's wife came in with two basins of cleaned vegetables, Su Xiaotian had already prepared most of it.
She took cilantro and garlic sprouts from the washed vegetable basins and prepared to chop them.
"Leave this to me," Wang Xianghua said quickly.
Even without tasting it, the aroma was already delicious.
"This seems quite troublesome to make," Su Changjiu's wife began to seriously consider whether it was difficult to learn.
If it was too difficult, she worried she wouldn't be able to learn it.
"It's only troublesome the first time you prepare it. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes easy."
As Su Xiaotian spoke, she produced a handful of bamboo skewers from somewhere.
"Xiaotian, what are these for?"
"After slicing the vegetables, string them onto the skewers one by one and keep them in a bucket of water. When someone orders something, they can just pick it out of the water and cook it."
Su Xiaotian initially thought of just putting the vegetables directly into the pot to cook, but then she considered that since she planned to open a mala tang shop in the future, it would be best to set a proper example from the beginning.
Su Changjiu's wife and Wang Xianghua both found this idea quite novel.
"Xiaotian, how many slices of vegetables should go on one skewer?"
"Four slices for larger pieces, five for smaller ones. Just make sure the weight on each skewer is roughly the same," Su Xiaotian said, demonstrating to the two of them.
With the three of them working together, they quickly cut and skewered all the vegetables.
"They look so appealing," Wang Xianghua said happily.
Su Xiaotian checked the time and felt it was almost time for lunch, so she asked Su Changjiu's wife, "Auntie, what would you like to eat? Pick your own skewers."
Su Changjiu's wife selected her favorite vegetables from a large basin according to Su Xiaotian's instructions.
"This is a bit inconvenient, having so many vegetables together."
"When we officially open the shop, we'll get small buckets, and each type of vegetable will have its own bucket, so there won't be this need to pick and choose."
"Auntie, would you like a serving of wide vermicelli?"
"Let's try it!" Su Changjiu's wife felt this way of eating was quite novel and said casually.
Soon, Su Xiaotian prepared the first bowl of mala tang.
It was a large bowl, filled with vermicelli and vegetables, with bright red chili oil floating on top.
Su Xiaotian had added a lot of white sesame seeds to the chili oil, making it even more enticing.
Then, she sprinkled on vibrant green scallions and garlic sprouts, garnished with a few diced pickled vegetables and peanuts, which indeed made it very appetizing.
"It smells delicious, and it looks so good I could drool," Su Changjiu's wife exclaimed.
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Changjiu and Su Laoda entered.
"What are we eating today? Why does it smell so good?"
The two of them said in unison.
As they walked into the courtyard, they had already smelled the aroma wafting from the kitchen, and their mouths were watering.